HUNDREDS of Kingswood College pupils, parents and teachers filled the Scarisbrick Hall grounds to celebrate saving the school from closure.

They waved banners and released balloons to mark the successful acquisition of the school business on Friday.

The Governors of Kingswood College Trust (KCT) made the purchase to secure the school’s future, safeguarding the continuing education of all its pupils and providing continuing employment in the area.

It means that children can continue with the same level of education at the same site.

Headteacher Eric Borowski said: “The term started with bad news and has ended with good news.

“This is the beginning of a new era and I cannot express my thanks enough to all the people involved in saving the school. It is a fantastic achievement made within record time.”

He said: “The school will continue to place the highest value on the maintenance and further improvement of standards so that all who have a stake in the future prosperity of the school – governors, parents, staff and pupils – will have confidence in what is being offered.”

Parent and school governor Andrew Smith said: “It is quite amazing. When we heard it was going to close it would’ve been easy to walk away but people have shown great determination and commitment. It could have been a very different story but this is great news for everyone at Kingswood.”

GEMS Ltd, the former owners of the business, have made a substantial donation to the Trust and handed over all the educational, teaching and learning resources, including IT and school buses, to enable it to continue forward without any interruption.

A GEMS spokesman said: “We are very pleased that the Kingswood College Trust are taking over the school, and we wish them every success for the future.”

KCT chairman Lynda Headley said: “We are looking forward to operating the new school as a charitable trust from the start of the new term. We are planning to hold celebrations for parents, pupils and staff on the first day of the term.

“The Governors, teachers, parents, pupils and staff now look forward to the new term and working together to build their 21st Century school based upon personalised learning for pupils.

“We place the highest value in equal opportunity and inclusion and believe that by continuing with the Kingswood educational commitments, family ethos and pastoral care we will offer benefit to pupils of today and the future.”

Send your messages of support to the Kingswood pupils, parents and staff right here